Sony Xperia XZs camera low-light performance examined in detail

11 April 2017
We take the Sony Xperia XZs for another spin at night.

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  • AnonD-600084
  • KZK
  • 12 Apr 2017

This is not so true,xzs a better,even my z5p are better than my friend ip7,and he even admit it,even on youtube and other site show xzs is very good ij camera,only gsm is different

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    • Bu Hasan
    • Hxe
    • 12 Apr 2017

    I have Xperia Z2 which is a 3 years old phone. It takes great photos in manual mode as I have to admit that the auto mode push the ISO very high unnecessarily. So I go to manual mode and fix the ISO on 100 or 200 which gives much better photos that can match new mobiles. Sadly the camera software don't have the option to change the shutter speed.

    I believe this is the only way to get good photos with Sony mobiles

      Anonymous, 12 Apr 2017You obviously don't get the point....let me help you...with... moreThe problem is that people use the camera incorrectly then quickly assumes it's the worst. Best cameras always work best in Manual. Take DSLRs and mirrorless cameras for instance, where do they work better? Manual or Auto?

      Same thing, all you need to do is to go to Manual Mode, keep everything in Auto, then take a picture. Bam, better processed photos. Sure, Sony's Auto doesn't do that good, but once you get used to it, you'll never go back. Looking at the 1s Shutter Samples, those images are highly detailed with plenty of clarity and controlled amount of noise

        Anonymous, 12 Apr 2017Haha nearly fell on my back, do you really think photograph... moreThen don't believe the Pixel has the best camera and the S7 has a great camera, second to the Pixel if you don't believe DxOMark. Simple as that :)

          ithehappy, 12 Apr 2017I own a Pixel. Which is miles ahead for photo quality in co... moreI have used the 7+ (same camera as the 7) and XZ. I highly disagree. XZ takes better detail photos compared to the 7+. Your Pixel got wrecked by the XZ
          XZ - http://i.imgur.com/QUVyNl8.jpg
          Pixel - http://i.imgur.com/lja2tO6.jpg

          Source: DxOMark Comments of XZ Review

          You know, a simple update could easily make the XZs even better in low light because there's the hardware, just needs further optimization. Pixel, on the other hand, no matter how good the algorithms to process images, will never beat a better hardware sensor. You can't cheat physics

            Anonymous, 12 Apr 2017In dxomark yes but in reality uhmmm no.it can't even beat p... moreP9 was super slow at taking photos. Photos look good, but nothing impressive. It doesn't live up to my expectation

            S7 is rather a camera for the spoiled majority. Overly brightened photos that lack detail when you zoom in. Less noise, but weak detail preservation, no thanks.

            G5 is rather as much as the P9 - good, but nothing impressive. Zoom in and you'll see the lack of detail and poor noise reduction.

            Pixel is good, better than most, but again, 12mp simply cannot overdone a pure 23mp shooter. You can't cheat physics.

            XZ is already there. Artifacts just needs a fix, and a simple update could fix it. X Performance is already on par with the S7 and HTC 10, there's just no way the successor would do worse with the additional hardware. New hardware always needs time to improve. Look at the P10 Plus's new Summilux Lens doing worse than P10's Summarit Lens

              Anonymous, 12 Apr 2017Why bother with Sony? Even if you were to win in the camera... more"Lowest battery apart from iPhone"
              -Because a good battery is now determined by mAh count. Now I understand why the XZs's 2,900mAh battery got an endurance rating of 73h and the G6'd 3,300mAh battery got an endurance rating of 72h.

              "Lowest performance because of close to no caching"
              -Are you trolling or something? How do you explain this?
              https://youtu.be/WzzgT5r08Mw

              "Big untuly bezels make big devices with small screens"
              -Which is why they're safer than small bezel phones when dropping them. Good luck salvaging your Infinity Display when you drop it sideways.

              Yet you aren't mentioning great things like Qnovo Adaptive Charging, Hi-Res Audio, LDAC, DNC, DSEE HX, Bravia X-Reality Engine, STAMINA Modes, Dedicated Camera Shutter Key, Super Slow 960fps Video Recordinh, SteadyShot / 5-axis EIS, Side FP Scanner, Most Stable Android OS, and the great features of the OS including Album, Walkman Music, and Video Gallery, as well as the fun and useful features like Sketch.


              I seriously doubt this is more of a hate than justification

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • pVN
                • 12 Apr 2017

                ithehappy, 11 Apr 2017Well NO. Those who have human eyes can't agree with that un... moreWhy bother with Sony? Even if you were to win in the camera department it loses everywhere else. Lowest battery apart from iphone, lowest performance because it does close to no caching, big untuly bezels make big devices with small screens ... I mean Sony mobiles are terrible all around and if it was not for the Sony faithful the rule of the market would *kill* their devices each gen.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • PTG
                  • 12 Apr 2017

                  AnonD-584268, 11 Apr 2017Top 10 dxomark Xperia, there are 3 series Xperia. Xperia p... moreIn dxomark yes but in reality uhmmm no.it can't even beat p9,s7 and G5 and best camera goes to pixel

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                    • AnonD-632062
                    • Hxc
                    • 12 Apr 2017

                    These samples are markedly better than the ones used in the review, but alas there are better flagships for low-light photography.

                      Tann Hauser, 12 Apr 2017Mmmm, nah, whatever device you mean, it cant get better ... moreI own a Pixel. Which is miles ahead for photo quality in comparison with iPhone 7 itself, and then iP7 is miles ahead than this garbage phone.

                      Are you guys really this dumb or what? Look what GSMArena themselves said about the camera in this very article!

                      What the heck is wrong with you guys I don't get!! The samples are AWFUL and people simply need to open their eyes and process that through brain. And yeah report my factual comment obviously. I realise now why people don't even consider Sony nowadays, well hardcore fanboys do, and that's why they are still alive.

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                        • Proman
                        • 0@7
                        • 12 Apr 2017

                        With xperia i need a tripod to shoot similar or better results which i can get from competitors. What were you thinking sony mobile? Add a freaking OIS already, reduce the mp to 12mp, widen the aperture to 1.7 or less, add a second lens, improve your crappy image processing, make your auto mode reliable, etc. and then we'll talk. You won't buy me with your colors - your overall results and especially low light results are crap not to mention your lousy auto mode. No reliable auto mode = no buy. Simple as that. And all that is just for the camera itself. That are other probs with xperia xzs and xzp as well for that matter.

                          • ?
                          • Anonymous
                          • NHr
                          • 12 Apr 2017

                          Tann Hauser, 12 Apr 2017You are deliberately blind, Xperia takes lowlight shots wi... moreXZs : "The samples are hardly the greatest around, with plenty of detail lost to heavy-handed noise reduction, which ironically isn't doing all that good of a job of masking the noise itself. Not it's not a terrible performance by any means, but it's one that's lagging behind the vast majority of competitors. "

                            • D
                            • AnonD-120610
                            • StV
                            • 12 Apr 2017

                            Not sure about the phone, but the location is nice.
                            What is this place?

                              • D
                              • AnonD-195424
                              • uwx
                              • 12 Apr 2017

                              Nice comeback "Sony".....

                                Anonymous, 12 Apr 2017You obviously don't get the point....let me help you...with... moreYou are deliberately blind, Xperia takes lowlight shots with double the amount of any Samsung shot:

                                http://m.gsmarena.com/showpic2.php3?sImg=reviews/17/xperia-xzs-low-light/camera/gsmarena_019.jpg&idNews=24479

                                Keep on faking fact. You are lousy at it.

                                  • D
                                  • AnonD-633729
                                  • 6p$
                                  • 12 Apr 2017

                                  tp1, 12 Apr 2017LG G4 with 1.8f/stop is still a beast. 2Years old now and s... moreVery true!

                                    • D
                                    • AnonD-633729
                                    • 6p$
                                    • 12 Apr 2017

                                    XperiaI, 12 Apr 2017The lowlight shot from the iphone 7 still looks better??..a... moreYes, camera sensor is supplied by sony but sony's camera software is full of bugs. Everyone knows sony has worst camera of ALL smartphones. Even $150 phone can better than sony in taking pictures.

                                      • ?
                                      • Anonymous
                                      • t7x
                                      • 12 Apr 2017

                                      Only geeks care about DxOMark scores etc. The only things that matter for most consumers are:
                                      1. Fast camera start-up and photo capture
                                      2. Ease of UI and taking of good pictures
                                      3. Clarity of pictures
                                      4. Good low light performance

                                      That's why Sony still lags behind the iPhone, Samsung and the Pixel. Consumers don't give a damn about fiddling with settings to get a great photo. Plus it's slow to capture photos. Sony might make great sensors but its own camera software is poorly designed.

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • NHr
                                        • 12 Apr 2017

                                        NokiaBeast, 12 Apr 2017Hmmm. Then I wonder what testing benchmark photographers ar... moreHaha nearly fell on my back, do you really think photographers use DxO to choose a digital camera? Lol, go to proper professional DSLR forums and see what they make of DxO...